For my first instructional post on this forum I have chosen to share a lighting technique I’m often asked about…How do I achieve that beautiful light painting effect on my detail shots? This one is so simple you’ll go out and get great results the very first time you try it. My assistant carries a Sunpak Readylite 20 in her pocket all day long and we pull it out throughout the wedding day for detail shots of wedding invitations, jewelry, flowers, shoes, menus…almost every little detail we wish to photograph.
Today’s high performance digital SLRs like my Nikon D3 cameras deliver outstanding high ISO/low noise performance. You don’t need a lot of light for these shots. The Sunpak is a twenty watt unit, but I’ve seen photographers get amazing results from small pocket-sized flashlights that you can buy at your local hardware store for 99 cents!
In the image below the Sunpak light is placed flat on the surface, to the right, next to the wedding invitation. It is pointed almost directly at the bride’s engagement ring as evidenced by the direction of the shadow being cast off of the ring. The light, being very close to the setup, simply streams across the invitation creating a swath of light that fades off very quickly on both sides of the beam. No burning or dodging in Photoshop required. This is how it looks right out of the camera.
In the following image my assistant held the Sunpak Readylite above and slightly to the right of the wedding rings. I used a 105mm f2.8 Micro-Nikkor lens on my Nikon D3 camera leveraging the camera’s high ISO/low noise capabilities and the VR (Vibration Reduction) feature in the lens. Shooting at ISO 1600 I was able to make this exposure handheld at 1/1000 second at f32! A little edge burning was done in Photoshop along with a bit of extra sharpening on the wedding rings.
In the next image the Readylite was held far to the left, slightly above the shoes creating deep shadows in the image of the bride’s shoes hanging on the back of her gown. I try to create deep shadows when I make this photograph to keep the designer’s label (inside the shoes) from becoming a focal point in the image. Once again, this image is right out of the camera with no Photoshop enhancement.
In this final image I used the daylight coming through a window above and behind to illuminate the bride’s shoes. I used a daylight white balance and had my assistant point the Readylite at the shoes creating a warm tone on the jeweled heels and casting an interesting shadow on the wall behind the shoes.
So there you have it. Some food for thought on getting big results from little lights. Go out and give it a try. E-mail me pictures and a description of your techniques and I’ll publish some of the best ones on this forum.
